The seventh annual Heaven Can Wait regatta started at 11am this morning and the weather was wild to say the least, with gusts of 35 knots reported as some stages.

Three races ran in conjunction, the iconic 24 Hour Race, the One Lap Dash around the full 30 Nm course, and a new 12 Hour Challenge, with participants able to compete in any or all of the three events.

It was a wondrous sight, with an incredible mixture of boats amongst the record 70 that blasted away.

Kite boarder Chris Argent had a blinding start on the pin, while Bob Cowan’s Stealth 8 Stealthy started near the committee boat and stayed on the shore line, and quickly led Tom and Belinda Braidwood and John Anderson’s Nelson Marek 43 Quest and Mark Langford’s Farr 40 Forty. Rum Bucket, Shane Guanaria's 505 was away to a flier too while in constast Moth world champion Josh McKnight had an awful start, badly miss-timed in about the third row.

Stealthy was on fire by Coal Point, behind her Peter Winter and his Buckle Up crew were well advanced but they took a bath in the gusty conditions then shortly after they capsized and with the mast buried in the soft Lake Macquarie mud were forced to retire.

The kites were crashing and burning, over powered with just too much sail area. They did not stay on their feet and one by one the kite boarders got exhausted and retired.

In the heaviest of gusts Andrew Waugh’s Zippier dismasted near Wangi Point. But the wind was beginning to drop.

McKnight and Babbage disappeared into the distance, behind them the other moths were struggling in the heavy conditions. Babbage retired after a particularly savage crash and McKnight went on to an impressive victory; the only one of the seven Moths to finish.

Exhausted after the finish McKnight admitted he had hit the water more than twenty times. ‘At one stage I was foiling sideways in a big, big gust before my biggest prang...’

It was an impressive performance from McKnight who sailed a five percent longer course than that of the 2010 record set by Nathan Outteridge in just three percent more time, so definitely faster but a new 30 mile record.

In Division 2 Sydney sailor Andrew York’s Tachyon new VX One sports boat took both line honours and the handicap result from Lake Macquarie’s Noel Gough’s Northshore NSX38 Excapade with Neil Hamilton’s Slingshot. In division three Bob Bower’s Sonata 7 Bosun won on line honours and handicap.

A total of 22 retirements from the One Lap Dash fleet was a testament to the strong conditions.

The 12 hour and 24 hour race fleet continues with one high profile retirement. The Yellow Brick tracker showed Bob Cowan’s Stealthy sailing back home up Dora Creek.

A tragic tale; after a giant broach, pitching two crew into Lake Macquarie, half of their refreshment provisions - some 120 cans of beer - went the same way. It seems after some indecision the crew were rescued ahead of the beer.

But Bob explained with a sob, ‘There was a lot of water inside the boat and the electronics were shorted out, with no navigation lights and no instruments there was nothing to do but go home and drink the 120 remaining cans.’

The 12 hour race finishes at 11pm today and the 24 hour race at 11am tomorrow. A big moon tonight amongst the breaking clouds and winds now more westerly 10-15 knots, with gusts up to 20.

The regatta was established by Lake Macquarie sailor and cancer survivor Shaun Lewicki to raise funds for men's cancer research and support programs through the Cancer Council of NSW.

Lewicki commented, ‘It was a huge buzz today to watch that big fleet streaming across the line. It’s the wonderful mix of boats that participate in this race that make it so special. I am really proud to see the event going from strength to strength. ‘